Deadline Day: Enroll in 2026 Health Coverage Today

Open enrollment for marketplace coverage closes in most of the country today.  

If you have not yet enrolled in coverage for 2026 or were auto-enrolled in a plan, here are some tips: 

1. Go to healthcare.gov or your own state marketplace to make sure you are enrolled in the best possible plan for you and your family. The deadline to do that in most states is today (January 15). The following states have slightly longer deadlines: CA, DC, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA. 
2. Be sure to pay your first month’s premium. Otherwise, you may be dropped from coverage and may not be able to get it back this year. 
3. Watch for special enrollment opportunities: For instance, if you marry, move, lose other coverage, gain a dependent, or newly become a citizen or lawfully present individual, you might be able to enroll midyear.  
4. Contact your members of Congress to tell them to extend enhanced premium tax credits and reopen enrollment. 

Because Congress has not yet extended enhanced premium tax credits, millions of people are left worrying about how they will afford healthcare throughout the coming year.  

Among the people harmed are: 

• Jen S, a retired teacher in Arizona who is already in medical debt from health issues she faced two years ago and now faces a 50% increase in premiums for herself and her husband;  

• Ellen Allen in West Virginia who will now need to set aside between $35,000 and $45,000 to cover her health care costs 

• Lori Lay, North Carolina, whose family already knows about the devastating cost of care after an accident 

• Steve Ramirez, South Carolina, an engineer who learned he’ll have a 642% cost increase to keep coverage for himself and his spouse comparable to what he had last year, and a $10,000 increase even to keep a more affordable plan 

• Wayne Riley, a 56 year old in Colorado. Premiums for he and his wife have tripled, and are unaffordable even in a high-deductible plan.  

This loss of premium tax credits is felt by people at many different incomes: 

• People with income over four times the poverty level ($62,600 for one person and $84,600 for a couple) are no longer eligible for any financial help with premiums. At this income level, a 60-year-old couple’s premium will spike by over $24,000 for the year on average, and as much as $45,000 in some states. 

• A family of four with income of about $68,000 (just over twice the poverty line will now face a spike in premiums of more than $3,100 since last year for a typical silver plan that helps pay their costs: they will now pay about $4,800 in annual premiums. If they choose to enroll in a bronze plan instead to get lower or no cost premiums, they could face a deductible of $16,900 before any coverage for sick care begins, and out of pocket costs for care as high as $20,300 if they faced a major illness.  

Early enrollment data already shows a decline in enrollment from this time last year, and the number of people left without coverage will worsen if Congress does not act. Some people have been automatically enrolled in a plan but will not be able to afford their premiums: if they miss their premium payments, they may be uninsured for the rest of the year. Some newly face deductibles higher than $10,000 for one person and will not be able to afford the cost of care when they are sick. Others have not enrolled in coverage at all.  

Congress could fix this problem now by extending the enhanced premium tax credits that helped 22 million people afford robust coverage last year. The House has already voted to do so. Now it is time for the Senate to act.